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Ok. Both teams that I cheered for in the end of tournament eventually lost. Which made me think from postition of a fan, how unsuccessful this edition was and I want to just forget about it...

If I would be German, I would be like "goodness, SO close!". But hey, you guys, I know the gold was close but did anyone expect reaching final, actually? Enjoy this silver, it's a massive success I don't know who was more touched, Grozer or Giani.

Giani, Giani, Giani... He is becoming more and more hot name in coach's society. Italians will be so foolish not to at least try him as a coach one day. Yes, KK15, I read your post about him and his conflict of the interests with federation. But maybe one day...

Probably for the first time I didn't cheer for Serbs, no matter who their opponent was in the moment. In fact, I don't quite like present team. I like maybe Uros, because he is exactly the type of player that I like, although he is annoying little snot. Srećko still will be among my fav MBs as well. As for Luburić, he was playing and in the same time overcoming real tiredness. Still managed to pull this of. As for the setters of both sides, I seriously was lost deciding who was worse, Serbian or Belgian, oh my world... Couldn't understand also why Van Walle was subbed in one moment but that doesn't matter any longer. I just thought it was stupid decision. Pity that Rousseaux didn't have his day yesterday... Still I'm excited to watch him in Plusliga this coming season because I consider him as an interesting player. As well as Volkov, who makes this Russian team a bit more interesting. Together with his majesty Mikhaylov What a player. Even if he struggles, he can sort himself out to bring some quality needed in tough moments.

Congratulations to the winners! To those who lost also, even if they lost, they achieved sth. Germans with silver, Belgians with... well, nothing physically but still can be proud of overall performance and result. Kudos for making at least the last day exciting.

Still, Grankin got the Best Setter award, maybe mostly based on his overall performance, but it should've been given to Kampa if we look at the final only.

That weird thought bloomed in my head when award ceremony started, that actually Kampa deserved again to be the best setter. And then I just got this hunch that in the end Grankin will take it. And hey, I wasn't mistaken. I just thought that there were so many situations when Grankin came up with some strong and unexpected attacks what in case of chosing the best setter could have been some added value.

"People wait all week for friday, all year for summer, all life for happiness."

If I would be German, I would be like "goodness, SO close!". But hey, you guys, I know the gold was close but did anyone expect reaching final, actually? Enjoy this silver, it's a massive success I don't know who was more touched, Grozer or Giani.

Yes, thats how i see it, and most/all comments go in this direction too. No comparison to the lost OGQ against your team which at times, still give me nightmares.

Pity that Rousseaux didn't have his day yesterday... Still I'm excited to watch him in Plusliga this coming season because I consider him as an interesting player.

He actually had a lot of these "not-my-day" days in Bundesliga too and wasn't even a safe starter for Friedrichshafen. There is potential and he is still young, but imho he has to learn really quickly to survive in polish league. I am not sure he will manage to do well, unless he improves significantly.

But in the end, most important thing is that we saw a great development with the German team in almost any volleyball related aspect and it is obvious that good work had been done in the training gym. This, in the end, is what defines a good coach more than his language skills. I think we completely agree on this.

We do, that's not something I was arguing about. I favour the part when it is better to be able to communicate and I think it is absolutely essential, but I was rather happy that exceptions like Giani's exist and they remind us about all aspects of a coach's job.

The most boring Ech ever......none of the team are playing at their optimal level, maybe Germany is closest to its best form. It's rare for me to find a 5-set match boring.
For the individual awards, yes Kaliberda is playing good but I think Kovacevic deserved the award more as he really played a pivotal role in his team. Grankin is doing an excellent job except the final but Kampa is the second-most important factor in the complete turnaround in the semi, that I think he can be awarded the best setter.

The most boring Ech ever......none of the team are playing at their optimal level, maybe Germany is closest to its best form. It's rare for me to find a 5-set match boring.
For the individual awards, yes Kaliberda is playing good but I think Kovacevic deserved the award more as he really played a pivotal role in his team. Grankin is doing an excellent job except the final but Kampa is the second-most important factor in the complete turnaround in the semi, that I think he can be awarded the best setter.

Everyone played much better at the World League, for example this Russia and Germany would have no chances at all against Brazil, France and even Canada.( the way they played in the WL),

The most boring Ech ever......none of the team are playing at their optimal level, maybe Germany is closest to its best form. It's rare for me to find a 5-set match boring.
For the individual awards, yes Kaliberda is playing good but I think Kovacevic deserved the award more as he really played a pivotal role in his team. Grankin is doing an excellent job except the final but Kampa is the second-most important factor in the complete turnaround in the semi, that I think he can be awarded the best setter.

Everyone played much better at the World League, for example this Russia and Germany would have no chances at all against Brazil, France and even Canada.( the way they played in the WL),

Who is everyone? France? France were the only team that underperformed at the ECH in comparison to the WL. I don't share your pessimism at all. Comparing a team's form in a span of, let's say, 2 months, is fine, but it isn't how it works in real life and guarantees (France) nothing. Besides, if France now win the Grand Champions Cup, it will make the ECH look way stronger, following your logic, than the WL, for instance. Who (how, when and whether) can beat Brazil is a topic for another discussion But to lose against Brazil, Canada, or USA has little to do with the level of the ECH, these 3 teams were in great shape this summer and could make anyone suffer.

Also, I disagree with the above post regarding the teams' optimal performance. Russia came pretty close to the full potential of this specific squad they sent and appeared vulnerable only when challenged in the final. Germany, as a matter of fact, overperformed and overachieved. Let's be real, they are not Europe's N2. Serbia played as good as in the WL, I am sure they are still analyzing how they dropped that comfortable advantage against Germany, though. Belgium surely came close to its potential except in the semi, Slovenia showed good things and were unlucky to play Russia twice. Poland, Italy, and Bulgaria, all 3 for different reasons, underperformed, but we can't say it wasn't expected based on their momentum and the WL signals they had sent. So if you are disappointed with some of the bigger teams, then fine, no problem, but I don't think the ECH was very bad.

The most boring Ech ever......none of the team are playing at their optimal level, maybe Germany is closest to its best form. It's rare for me to find a 5-set match boring.
For the individual awards, yes Kaliberda is playing good but I think Kovacevic deserved the award more as he really played a pivotal role in his team. Grankin is doing an excellent job except the final but Kampa is the second-most important factor in the complete turnaround in the semi, that I think he can be awarded the best setter.

Everyone played much better at the World League, for example this Russia and Germany would have no chances at all against Brazil, France and even Canada.( the way they played in the WL),

Who is everyone? France? France were the only team that underperformed at the ECH in comparison to the WL. I don't share your pessimism at all. Comparing a team's form in a span of, let's say, 2 months, is fine, but it isn't how it works in real life and guarantees (France) nothing. Besides, if France now win the Grand Champions Cup, it will make the ECH look way stronger, following your logic, than the WL, for instance. Who (how, when and whether) can beat Brazil is a topic for another discussion But to lose against Brazil, Canada, or USA has little to do with the level of the ECH, these 3 teams were in great shape this summer and could make anyone suffer.

Also, I disagree with the above post regarding the teams' optimal performance. Russia came pretty close to the full potential of this specific squad they sent and appeared vulnerable only when challenged in the final. Germany, as a matter of fact, overperformed and overachieved. Let's be real, they are not Europe's N2. Serbia played as good as in the WL, I am sure they are still analyzing how they dropped that comfortable advantage against Germany, though. Belgium surely came close to its potential except in the semi, Slovenia showed good things and were unlucky to play Russia twice. Poland, Italy, and Bulgaria, all 3 for different reasons, underperformed, but we can't say it wasn't expected based on their momentum and the WL signals they had sent. So if you are disappointed with some of the bigger teams, then fine, no problem, but I don't think the ECH was very bad.

Well a lot of people are saying the level of these ECH were super LOW....it is not just me..I did not start anything. Just look back a few posts and you will see it.

And I dont agree the final was boring. I think the final was a thriller especially the 5set.

Pity that Rousseaux didn't have his day yesterday... Still I'm excited to watch him in Plusliga this coming season because I consider him as an interesting player.

He actually had a lot of these "not-my-day" days in Bundesliga too and wasn't even a safe starter for Friedrichshafen. There is potential and he is still young, but imho he has to learn really quickly to survive in polish league. I am not sure he will manage to do well, unless he improves significantly.

Well I said it because he really got my attention when I watched Belgian team. Since Deroo struggled a lot and there were moments when Rousseaux took over the leadership. I think if he would come to some top polish club like Skra or Zaksa, he would have more tough times. In Olsztyn he can only gain a lot and I strongly believe in that It will be quite interesting team, anyway.
Thanks for the information about his performance in Bundesliga, I couldn't say much myself since I didn't follow, so it's sth interesting for me to note. I will keep an eye on him even more closely

"People wait all week for friday, all year for summer, all life for happiness."

But in the end, most important thing is that we saw a great development with the german team in almost any volleyball related aspect and it is obvious that good work had been done in the training gym. This, in the end, is what defines a good coach more than his language skills. I think we completely agree on this.

No offense, but I'm not particularly sure what development you're talking about. It's not that I follow the German team closely but what D-land has now is a shadow of their Berlin OQT-2016 team. Very impressive defensively against Rus at the SF, fantastic teamwork - one can easily find a video on youtube. The only caveat... well, quite a big "caveat", was the condition of No9. Very predictable back in 2016 in Berlin and a major deciding factor at this ECH final. By the way, I bet that tragic world champ qualifier happened in his absence?

The most boring Ech ever......none of the team are playing at their optimal level, maybe Germany is closest to its best form. It's rare for me to find a 5-set match boring.
For the individual awards, yes Kaliberda is playing good but I think Kovacevic deserved the award more as he really played a pivotal role in his team. Grankin is doing an excellent job except the final but Kampa is the second-most important factor in the complete turnaround in the semi, that I think he can be awarded the best setter.

Everyone played much better at the World League, for example this Russia and Germany would have no chances at all against Brazil, France and even Canada.( the way they played in the WL),

Who is everyone? France? France were the only team that underperformed at the ECH in comparison to the WL. I don't share your pessimism at all. Comparing a team's form in a span of, let's say, 2 months, is fine, but it isn't how it works in real life and guarantees (France) nothing. Besides, if France now win the Grand Champions Cup, it will make the ECH look way stronger, following your logic, than the WL, for instance. Who (how, when and whether) can beat Brazil is a topic for another discussion But to lose against Brazil, Canada, or USA has little to do with the level of the ECH, these 3 teams were in great shape this summer and could make anyone suffer.

Also, I disagree with the above post regarding the teams' optimal performance. Russia came pretty close to the full potential of this specific squad they sent and appeared vulnerable only when challenged in the final. Germany, as a matter of fact, overperformed and overachieved. Let's be real, they are not Europe's N2. Serbia played as good as in the WL, I am sure they are still analyzing how they dropped that comfortable advantage against Germany, though. Belgium surely came close to its potential except in the semi, Slovenia showed good things and were unlucky to play Russia twice. Poland, Italy, and Bulgaria, all 3 for different reasons, underperformed, but we can't say it wasn't expected based on their momentum and the WL signals they had sent. So if you are disappointed with some of the bigger teams, then fine, no problem, but I don't think the ECH was very bad.

Well a lot of people are saying the level of these ECH were super LOW....it is not just me..I did not start anything. Just look back a few posts and you will see it.

And I dont agree the final was boring. I think the final was a thriller especially the 5set.

Don't worry, no one is pointing fingers We are talking about volleyball only, after all, right? I know a lot of people are perhaps disappointed with the level, I read the previous pages and posts and I got the same impression also from other sources and media, but only here within the last two remarks I noticed the tone considering the tournament as "super low", "disgusting", "the worst ever". Although the level wasn't as great as we may have wished, this is a constant value, by the way, with the level of the game in general in the past few years, if you ask me, I still don't think the ECH was disappointing or THAT bad. I consider it OK and rather enjoyable.

But in the end, most important thing is that we saw a great development with the german team in almost any volleyball related aspect and it is obvious that good work had been done in the training gym. This, in the end, is what defines a good coach more than his language skills. I think we completely agree on this.

No offense, but I'm not particularly sure what development you're talking about. It's not that I follow the German team closely but what D-land has now is a shadow of their Berlin OQT-2016 team. Very impressive defensively against Rus at the SF, fantastic teamwork - one can easily find a video on youtube. The only caveat... well, quite a big "caveat", was the condition of No9. Very predictable back in 2016 in Berlin and a major deciding factor at this ECH final. By the way, I bet that tragic world champ qualifier happened in his absence?

I am of course not referring to the Berlin OQT Team but to the team we saw this summer in WCHQ and WL.

With or without Grozer, this team had looked so terrible on a lot of occasions, that i almost lost hope. It was so visible, that they had no idea what Giani wants from them, either offensively or defensively. I was not even blaming them for not qualifying against France/Belgium. A lot of other, now qualified teams, would have struggled or failed to do so. It was rather the way they performed, looked like and communicated which made me so pessimistic.

So yes, i do think that there was development which goes beyond the presence of Grozer. For example, Giani deserves credit for building a working defensive strategy around such a young and highly inexperienced libero Zenger.

This result and performance was deeeply needed to inject some positive energy again and not to completely drown in depression.